Knutsen Says He’s a Lucky Ex-Duck

Columbus Blue Jacket center Espen Knutsen had just scored a goal and assisted on another for the World team in the NHL All-Star game Saturday at Staples Center. And the one thing he wasn’t going to do was go to Disneyland.

Been there. Done with that.

Knutsen, who played 19 games for the Mighty Ducks in 1996-97, was a late addition to the World team, replacing injured Jere Lehtinen of Dallas.

Knutsen became the first Norwegian to play in the All-Star game. He got a point when he fed Markus Naslund for a second-period goal and scored when he swatted a rebound between the legs of goalie Sean Burke in the third period.

“It’s in the history books now,” Knutsen said.

Whether it becomes part of the curriculum in Oslo schools is to be seen. But this was certainly a mountaintop moment for Knutsen.

History was what his NHL career seemed to be after the 1996-97 season. He returned home and signed with Djugardens of the Swedish League, the team with which he gained notoriety. It was the end of a bad experience.

The Ducks had acquired his rights from the then-Hartford Whalers in 1996 and he stood out during training camp the following season. Then he scored three goals in 19 games, fell out of favor with Coach Pierre Page and was shipped to minor-league Cincinnati.

“That was a really tough year,” Knutsen said. “When the coach gives you confidence and plays you a lot, you play better. It’s tough to do anything when you just play seven or eight minutes a game.

“I never thought I would get back to the NHL. I was done. I was going to be a good Norwegian player in the Swedish League.”

That changed when the Ducks traded his rights to the expansion Blue Jackets after the 1999-2000 season. Knutsen had 11 goals and 53 points for Columbus last season. He has eight goals and 31 points this season.

“It’s good see Espen back in the NHL,” said San Jose’s Teemu Selanne, another former Duck. “I don’t think the Ducks gave him an even chance to play and show what kind of player he can be. That’s why I’m very happy that he’s back and in a game like this. This is a great experience for him too.”

The All-Star game is a notorious nonhitting affair.

But the play that brought one of the loudest cheers was in the first period, when Philadelphia’s Jeremy Roenick slammed Buffalo’s Alexei Zhitnik into the boards.

All-Star games have been free skates. In fact, there has been only one penalty in the last four games, and that was when Sandis Ozolinsh was called for hooking in the 2000 game.

“I was a little bit surprised,” Zhitnik said. “Sometimes you have to do something crazy, something unusual. After the game, when we were shaking hands, he said, ‘Sorry.’

“This game is fun to play. But hockey is a physical sport. When the physical portion of the game is taken away, it’s a whole different game. Nobody wants to get hurt, with the Olympic Games coming up and everybody trying to make the playoffs. But the physical part of the game is what makes it hockey.”

Selanne, however, was happy that Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios didn’t share those feelings. Chelios had Selanne lined up along the boards in the first period, but merely nudged him. Selanne went up ice and scored the first of his two goals.

“That was the softest he has ever hit me,” Selanne said. “There are so many great players here and you don’t have to worry about that if you keep your head down someone is going to knock you out.”

Chris Foster

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Members of the 1980 Olympic hockey team, in town for their first reunion since their triumph at Lake Placid, received a standing ovation when they took a lap around Staples Center before Saturday’s game.

Even Mark Pavelich, who didn’t skate in the “game” against a collection of NHL alumni Friday, joined his teammates to wave at the crowd and clap for the All-Stars as they skated onto the ice.

Mike Ramsey said he took advantage of the reunion to collect some Olympic memorabilia. He said he had no souvenirs from his Lake Placid experience, having given away the single stick he brought home from the Games.

“That’s why we’re all taking sticks or jerseys and getting them autographed now,” he said.

Helene Elliott